Railway truck construction



July 2l 1942- o. K. KJOLSETH 2,290,643

I RAILWAY TRUCK CONSTRUCTION x Filed June 18, 1941 l I L Inventor: Ole K. K `jcnlsseth,

His Att onegv.

Patented July 21, 1942 I RAILWAY TRUCK CONSTRUCTION 01e K. Kjolseth, Erie, Pa., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application June 18, 1941, Serial No. 398,615

3 Claims.

My invention relates to trucks for electrically .propelled Vehicles of the type having adriving motor and driving connections between the Inotor and the wheels of the vehicle which are carried by a truck frame spring borne on the wheels and axles, so that the unsprung weight of the truck is reduced to a minimum.

An object of my invention is to provide a railway truck having an improved arrangement of the motor and `driving connections between the motor and the axle.

Another object of my invention is to ,provide an improved and simplified truck for a selfpropelled railway vehicle.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent and my invention will be Ibetter understood from the following description referring to the accompanying drawing, and the features of novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of this specification.

In the drawing, Fig. l is a side elevational View of a railway truck embodying my invention, broken away along line I-I of Fig. 2; and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the truck shown in Fig. l, ,partly broken away to illustrate the driving connections between the driving motor and the wheels of the truck. Y

Referring to the drawing, I have shown a truck for a self-propelled railway vehi-cle provided with driving wheels I mounted on axles II. The truck includes a fabricated frame construction adapted to be resiliently supported on the axles II in a manner such that a minimum of the weight of the truck is carried as unsprung Weight on the axles II. Longitudinally extending side frame lmembers I2 and I3 are arranged on each side of the truck and are connected together at their ends by tubular members I4 forming end frames extending on the outside of the wheels Ill and providing a rigid substantially rectangular outer frame structure. This frame structure is supported by a flexible spring rigging I5 on journal boxes I6 which provide axle bearings for each end of each axle.

My improved yconstruction is particularly adaptable to railway trucks provided with a plurality of driving axles, and in the Construction shown in the drawing, the truck is provided with a pair of axles arranged to be driven by an electric motor arranged centrally between the two axles and extending transversely between the side frames of the truck. The motor is provided with a frame Il forming a transom for the truck secured by welding at I8 to the side frame at one side of the truck and secured to the side frame on the other side of the truck through a longitudinally extending gear casing I9 and a supporting `bracket 25. The motor frame Il is (provided with a center bearing plate ZI which is arranged to Support a complementary center bearing 22 connected to the underframe 23 of the railway vehicle. In this manner, the weight of the vehicle is transferred directly through the motor frame to the side frames of the truck and is resiliently supported by the spring rigging I5 on the axles II.

In order further to minimize the unsprung weight of the truck, the gear casing I9 is adapted to support a reduction gearing Iwhich connects the driving motor to the axles II. The motor is provided with a drive shaft 2d which is operatively connected to a spur gear 25. The shaft 24 is supported adjacent the gear 25 by a bearing 26 mounted in a .bearing bracket 2'! arranged in an opening 28 in the gear casing I9 and removably secured to the casing by bolts 29. The opening 28 is formed larger than the .gear 25 in order to facilitate removal of the gear from the gear gear `casing by withdrawing it axially through the opening 28. The spur gear or pinion 25 is arranged to drive the axles I I through reduction gearing which includes an idler gear 3l] arranged one on each side of the pinion gear 25. Each gear 30 is mounted on a shaft 3l supported by roller bearings 32 mounted in bearing housings yformed in the gear casing I9. Each idler gear 3U meshes with a reduction gear 33 mounted on a quill sha'ftwcoupling member 3d arranged in spaced relationship about an end of each of the axles II. Each quill Shaft coupling 34 is rotatably supported by roller bearings 35 mounted in the gear casing I9 and is provided with a plurality of driving Ipins 36 which extend into cup-shaped coupling elements 37 mounted in rubber members 38 vulcanized to bushings 38', which are arranged ina complementary coupling member 39 secured to the adjacent end of a quill shaft l0 providing a driving anfd supporting connection therewith. This construction provides a flexible cushioned driving connection between each quill shaft d0 and the motor driving shaft 24 through the reduction gearing and the quill shaft cou-pling members 313, thereby minimizing the transmission of jars and shocks` from the quill shafts 40 to the driving motor and further minimizes the unsprung weight of the truck by supporting an end of each of the quill shafts and the quill shaft couplings on the gear casing I9. Each quill shaft 4I! is arranged in radially spaced apart relationship about one of the axles I I and is arranged to provide a flexible driving connection with the truck wheels I0. This driving connection includes a coupling `arrangement similar to that which connects each quill shaft 40 to its quill shaft coupling 34. An annular coupling element 4I is rigidly mounted on the end of each quill shaft 40 adjacent a truck wheel I0 and is provided with a plurality of sockets in which a rubber cushioning member 42 is arranged about a coupling socket or cup 43. A coupling or driving pin 44 is mounted in each of the sockets 43 and is secured in a complementary opening in the wheel I0. This provides flexible and resilient cushioned driving connections between the wheels I of the truck and the quill shafts 40, thereby further minimizing the transmission of undesirable vibrations from the wheels I0 to the truck driving motor.

Repair of the reduction gearing is facilitated by forming the gear casing I9 with removable lower sections 45 which are secured by bolts 46 to the upper portion of the gear casing I9. The gear casing I9 also advantageously provides a lubricant reservoir for the reduction gearing and the supporting bearings cf the reduction gearing and the quill shaft coupling 34, thereby including the weight of the lubricant carried by the gear casing as sprung weight and further minimizing the unsprung weight of the construction. Furthermore, repairs to the motor are facilitated by providing an opening 4'I through the side frames I2 and I3 on the side of the truck opposite the gearing. This opening is made larger than the diameter of the armature 48 of the driving motor and is adapted to be closed by a bearing housing cover plate 49 secured by bolts 50 to the side frame I2. A bearing housing is formed on the cover plate 49 and is arranged to support the adjacent end of the armature shaft 24 in a bearing 5I, so that removal of the cover plate 49 and the bearing 5I permits easy withdrawal of the armature 4S and the pinion 25 without removal of the motor from the truck.

While I have illustrated and described a particular embodiment of my invention, modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art. I desire it to be understood, therefore, that my invention is not to be limited to the particular arrangement disclosed, and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A truck including wheels and axles, a truck frame, means for resiliently supporting said truck frame on said wheels and axles, said truck frame having side frame members, a motor arranged centrally of said frame and having a frame forming a transom for said truck frame, a quill shaft about each of said axles having a flexible driving connection with said wheels, means including reduction gearing on each side of said transom for providing a driving connection between said motor and each of said quill shafts, and means including a gear casing member having bearings for supporting said reduction gearing and an end of each of said quill shafts and for providing a lubricant reservoir for said gearing.

2. A truck including wheels and axles, a truck frame, means for resiliently supporting said truck frame on said wheels and axles, said truck frame having side frame members, a motor having a frame forming a transom for said truck frame, a quill shaft about each of said axles having a flexible rubber cushioned driving connection with said Wheels, means including reduction gearing on each side of said transom for providing a driving connection between said motor and each of said quill shafts, and means including a longitudinally extending gear casing member having bearings for supporting said reduction gearing and an end of each of said quill shafts.

3. A truck including wheels and axles, a truck frame, means for supporting said truck frame on said wheels and axles, a motor arranged between said axles and having a frame forming a transom for said truck frame, a quill shaft about each of said axles having a flexible driving connection with said wheels, a quill shaft coupling for each of said quill shafts having a flexible driving connection with each respective quill shaft, means including reduction gearing on each side of said transom for providing a driving connection between said motor and each of said quill shaft couplings, and means including a longitudinally extending gear casing member mounted on said transom and having bearings for supporting said reduction gearing and an end of each of said quill shafts and for providing a lubricant reservoir for said gearing.

OLE K. KJOLSETH. 

